Episode 234 -- Robin Pemberton on Nosy Reporters, 1985 Firecracker 400 Debacle and Roush Racing Genesis

In the first of what will be three installments of our interview with Robin Pemberton, he talks about getting into the sport in upstate New York, and more importantly, getting to know the people who would help guide him down south and into a career in the Winston Cup garage. Once he was there, he found himself at Ground Zero of two of the biggest controversies in NASCAR history. He was Richard Petty’s co-crew chief during the infamous Charlotte race weekend in the fall of 1983, and he was Bobby Allison’s pit boss when their DiGard Racing teammates Greg Sacks and Gary Nelson won at Daytona in the summer of 1985. And then … he gets a phone call from Jack Roush. In our second segment, hosts Rick Houston and Steve Waid dig into the October 8, 1981 issue of Grand National Scene. Darrell Waltrip dominates after Richard Petty gets taken out by an idiot at North Wilkesboro and Harry Gant blows an engine. Dale Earnhardt scores a momentous top-five finish for new car owner Richard Childress. Sharon Petty plans her wedding to Terry Farlow around the NASCAR season, a predicament MANY people in the garage are familiar with. Harry Gant fights with a commercial director over proper pronunciation … and checks in with a psychic to see if he can get any help breaking into victory lane … and his sponsor US Tobacco goes to war with Charlotte Motor Speedway and RJ Reynolds. NOTE: This show is not associated in any way with American City Business Journals, owner of the Scene brand. Interested in The Scene Vault Podcast T-shirts? Check out www.thescenevault.com and click on SHOP to see what we have available! Please consider supporting this show via: www.patreon.com/thescenevaultpodcast www.paypal.me/thescenevaultpodcast www.venmo.com/thescenevaultpodcast Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices